zuppa inglese Italian trifle Zuppa Inglese literally translates to ‘English Soup’, but there is nothing soupy about this dessert and it’s not English! So why is it named so? No idea! Perhaps it refers to ‘layers’ of ‘flavour’ one would find in a soup! Nonetheless, there are ‘layers’ and there are ‘flavours’, and the only…
spaghetti con frutti di mare seafood with spaghetti The food that comes to mind when I think of a summer day with sun kissed skin from swimming in the salty sea, is ‘spaghetti con frutti di mare’! It conjures memories of sitting by the water’s edge in Lipari (the largest of the Aeolian Islands north…
semifreddo al cioccolato, ciliegia, lampone e mandorla dark chocolate, cherry, raspberry & almond semifreddo I was once envious of those who celebrated a White Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere; open fires, mulled wines, rightfully eating copious amounts to kill two birds with one stone – in celebration & to keep warm! Now, however, I am…
marmellata di prugne plum jam This jam is my childhood favourite! There are other mature flavoured jams I have come to adore as an adult, namely cumquat & quince, however, as a child, it was plum jam for me! Chunky cut slices of bread, toasted and plastered with thick creamy butter, then smeared over with…
torta di foglie verdi green leaf pie I love this time of the year for all the winter greens growing in the veggie patch. Silverbeet, spinach, cavolo nero, cime di rapa, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, broccoli, lettuce leaves and more. They all just seem to thrive on the crisp fresh mornings and chilly cold nights! Of…
crostata di ciliegie cherry tart Every year, just before Christmas, my mother-in-law delivers a 5kg box of summer cherries from the “cherry capital” of NSW – Young. It’s one of our favourite traditions leading into to the festive season! We eat cherries straight from the box for days; plump dark red cherries with firm sweet…
gelato alla fragola stawberry ice cream I’m thrilled to say that this is the first summer (after many attempts) that I have been successfully able to grow my very own strawberries! Unfortunately not enough to make strawberry ice cream, but, alas, sufficient to savour the sweet marvel that is freshly grown & picked strawberries! The…
gnocchi di ricotta with cavoletti di bruxelles, aglio, pancetta & mandorle ricotta gnocchi with brussels sprouts, garlic, bacon & almonds I feel there is a general consensus on Brussels sprouts; you either love them or loathe them! It was the latter for me as a child, however, I don’t think anyone (even brussels sprouts aficionados)…
Rotolo Al Forno Rotolo Bake Whilst I enjoy a traditional ‘rotolo’, I have simplified it in this recipe titled “Rotolo Bake” using fresh pasta sheets filled with a mixture of silverbeet & ricotta, (essentially, a silverbeet & ricotta cannelloni), cut in half, sat upright in a large saucepan, filled with a thick bath of sugo.…
involtini di verza (savoy cabbage rolls with pork & rice) Did you love ‘cabbage rolls’ as a child? I recently posted a photo on my personal instagram account of our homemade cabbage rolls for dinner; the amount of followers who reminiscently commented that I had taken them back was tremendous! And I get taken back…